Views on the King Verdict

An overwhelming majority of Americans, both black and white, believe
that the four Los Angeles police officers found not guilty of beating
Rodney G. King should have been found guilty.

And an equally large majority says the U.S. Justice Department should
file criminal charges against the officers, according to a new
Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted Thursday.

The survey found that two out of three persons questioned believed
that the accused officers committed a crime in the King beating. Among
whites, six in 10 said the officers were guiltya view shared by nine out
of 10 blacks interviewed.

Younger people were more likely than older respondents to believe the
officers should have been found guilty, and to say the officers should
be charged with federal crimes. Among 18-to-30-year-olds, 77 percent
said the officers committed a crime, a view expressed by 57 percent of
those older than 60.

But the survey also found that blacks and whites differed sharply on
other aspects of the case. Three in four blacks questioned agreed that
the King verdict "shows that blacks cannot get justice in this country."
Only one out of four whites agreed.

Six in 10 whites and more than nine out of 10 blacks said the Justice
Department should file criminal charges against the four officers for
violating King's civil rights.

The survey also confirmed the intense public interest in the trial
and the King verdict. According to the poll, 99 percent of those
questioned, both blacks and whites, said they had read or heard about
the verdict. And more than nine out of 10 said they had seen portions of
the videotape of King's beating.

Q. Based on what you know, is it your opinion that the police
officers in the Rodney King case should have been found guilty of a
crime, or innocent of a crime, or don't you know enough about it to say?

All

Whites

Blacks

Guilty

68%

64%

92%

Innocent

4%

5%

1%

Don't Know

28%

31%

7%

Q. Do you agree or disagree: The verdict in the Rodney King case
shows that blacks cannot get justice in this country.

All

Whites

Blacks

Agree

32%

25%

78%

Disagree

59%

66%

19%

Don't Know

9%

9%

3%

Q.Do you think the United States Justice Department should or should
not charge these police officers with the crime of violating Rodney
King's civil rights?

All

Whites

Blacks

Should charge officers

69%

63%

97%

Should not charge officers

14%

17%

1%

Don't Know

17%

20%

2%

IMPACT OF THE VERDICT

Most blacks and whites predict that the verdict will seriously damage
relations between the races. According to the poll, nearly six in 10
whites and eight in 10 blacks say they expect the jury's innocent
verdicts will have a "major" impact on race relations in this country.
Fewer than one in 10 expected that the verdict would have no effect,
according to the poll.

Many Americans, regardless of race, also questioned whether the
rioting that followed Wednesday's not guilty verdicts would harm racial
attitudes. According to the survey, about half of all blacks and whites
questioned agreed that the disturbances would make whites "less
sympathetic" to black problems.

Overall, the verdict appears to have significantly increased racial
tension. According to the poll, 77 percent of those questioned
characterized race relations as only fair or poor, a view shared by 66
percent of those interviewed in a Post poll conducted just two months
ago.

One other ominous note: Big majorities of both races acknowledged
that racial prejudice remains a problem among both blacks and whites.

Q. As you may know, a jury on Wednesday found the police officers
innocent. Do you think the verdict in this case will do major damage to
race relations in this country, minor damage, or not much damage at all?

All

Whites

Blacks

Major damage to race relations

62%

58%

80%

Minor damage to race relations

26%

29%

13%

Not much damage at all

8%

9%

3%

Don't know

4%

4%

4%

Q. Do you agree or disagree: The rioting after the King verdict will
make whites less sympathetic to the problems of blacks.

All

Whites

Blacks

Agree

48%

47%

52%

Disagree

44%

45%

40%

Don't know

8%

8%

8%

BLACKS AND THE LAW

Do blacks and other minorities receive equal treatment by the
criminal justice system?

Yes, said about half of all whites questioned.

No, said nine out of 10 black respondents.

Nor do blacks believe that they receive equal treatment at the hands
of police. More than eight in 10 blacks interviewed disagreed when asked
if blacks receive "equal treatment as whites from police"up from seven
in 10 in a Post-ABC News survey conducted two years ago. Among whites,
about half said police treat blacks and whites the same way, unchanged
from the earlier poll.

Eight in 10 blacks also said the federal government only pays
attention to black concerns "when blacks resort to violent
demonstrations or riots," a view shared by four in 10 whites.

Q. Do you agree or disagree: These days police in most cities treat
blacks as fairly as they treat whites.

All

Whites

Blacks

Agree

41%

47%

1%

Disagree

47%

40%

85%

Don't know

12%

13%

4%

Q. Do you think blacks and other minorities receive equal treatment
as whites in the criminal justice system, or not?

All

Whites

Blacks

Agree

39%

46%

8%

Disagree

50%

43%

89%

Don't know

11%

11%

3%

Q. Do you agree or disagree: The only time the federal government
really pays attention to black problems is when blacks resort to violent
demonstrations or riots.

All

Whites

Blacks

Agree

45%

39%

79%

Disagree

46%

50%

18%

Don't know

9%

11%

3%

Figures based on telephone interviews nationally with 606 randomly
selected adults, including an oversample of 154 blacks, conducted
overnight on April 30. Margin of sampling error for the overall results
is plus or minus five percentage points, and is slightly larger for the
white subsample. Margin of sampling error for the black subsample is
plus or minus eight percentage points. Sampling error is, however, only
one of many sources of error in public opinion polls. In this survey,
the practical difficulties of conducting a poll in a single night
represent another potential source of error. Interviewing was conducted
by Chilton Research of Radnor, Pa.